Some Troubling Trends in Retirement

There's a troubling new look at the confidence of those of us in retirement. According to a new study from Transamerica, only 46 percent of retirees agree that their nest egg is large enough to sustain them throughout retirement.

More than half of them, a total of 56 percent, ended up retired sooner than they planned, at an average age of 63. But just 11 percent of them retired early because they were financially able to do so; 54 percent pointed to employment-related reasons for early retirement, including job loss, organizational changes, general unhappiness, and/or an incentive or buyout, and 47 percent cited health woes or family reasons.

Many are getting by on pretty small incomes: Their estimated median household income is just $32,000, with 25 percent having a household income of less than $25,000. Just 15 percent have an income of $100,000 or more.